Concord
by Revina
Summary: Events made them legends, renowned by all of Thedas. Fate decides once more to test them...by uniting them against the biggest threat of all. [Set after the events of DAI] Alistair x Cousland, Hawke x Anders, Trevelyan x Cullen. Mutliple OCs and Cameos.


_Hello all! Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at _Concord_. _

_This story follows my canon storyline with a few tweaks to what in the games, including the main pairings:_

_Warden-Warrior Cousland x Alistair_

_Mage Hawke x Anders_

_Mage Trevelyan x Cullen_

_And a buttload of drama, cameos, and OCs! Enjoy!_

**Prologue - Into the Darkness**

**9:39 Dragon, Denerim**

**Elissa**

"My lady, the parchment you asked for." A quiet spoken serving girl said, peeking through the open door to the royal chambers. The room itself was quite spacious, which was nothing less than befitting a King or Queen. Across the room, sitting at a large cluttered desk, was one such monarch. The Queen of Ferelden.

Queen Elissa Cousland-Theirin turned slightly in her seat to give the girl a soft smile. "Thank you, Madeline. You may set it down over here."

"Of course, your majesty." The girl bowed and placed the requested parchment on the right of the desk. "Will that be all?"

"Yes. You may leave. I bid you a good evening, Madeline."

"And you as well your majesty. Good night." Madeline bowed before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her, like she always did. When Elissa heard the door click, her smile dropped and she leaned back in the wooden seat. Silence filled the room as the Queen took advantage of her solitude to close her eyes.

She was glad her husband would be returning tomorrow. Being the only one to handle the blasphemy that is the Ferelden court for the past month is exhausting. She winced at the thought of him dealing with it alone during her time as Warden-Commander. She remembered he jokingly said it was payback for her during her months as active Warden-Commander.

Alistair Theirin. Grey Warden King and love of her life.

Elissa felt her lip instinctively curl up into a small smile at the memories. How the two of them got thrown into chaos of the fifth Blight together and still end up falling in love with one another. If someone had told her that would have been her fate before she got recruited into the Grey Wardens, she would've punched them for making up such crazy ideas.

The Queen opened her eyes and slowly stood up. She made her way to the balcony that overlooked most of Dererim. The sun itself was nearly gone, only traces of pink and orange were left in the evening sky. Some stars were already starting to show themselves, indicating the oncoming night. The last of the market activity also dispersed for the night. Mothers ushering their kids home and men gathering in the local tavern to relax after a days honest work. Happy. Content. _Safe_.

Any trace of the deadly battle that once took place was gone from the city. After all, it was well over eight years ago since that bloody day. Though it always seemed like yesterday for her.

Sometimes both her and Alistair had vivid dreams of that horrid battle. The Archdemon tearing apart their allies. Darkspawn everywhere. Blood and death hung in the air. They would often wake up and hold one another close as they reaffirmed both of them were still alive. The cursed taint in their bodies would always remind them. At times, it felt wrong to Elissa. She should've been dead after taking the final blow against the corrupted beast. But they both knew the reason why they lived...

_Change is coming..._

The words of that certain person rang clearly through her head and she shook them away. Of all the things, she remembered that. The memory of that conversation put a frown of her face and she turned to had back inside. She knew Morrigan was planning for something, but what could be anyone's guess.

Elissa sighed as she returned to her desk. She needed to finish prepping everything for Alistair's return. There was something she needed to discuss with him anyway. Things that could harm their-

She suddenly froze.

A familiar presence made itself known to her. A presence that still brought out an age old instinct to pull out her hidden blade. She quickly pushed down the aggressive feelings. As strange as it may seem, this was not her enemy, though many of his kind were. This one was different.

Elissa calmly turned around, eyes searching for the source. The doors to her balcony were still open, but something now occupied the spot she had just filled. Or rather...someone.

A darken cloaked figure with a shield and sword strapped to his back watched her. Slowly, the hooded creature pulled back it's hood to reveal the former darkspawn disciple that she had spared all those years ago. His face resembled that of a hurlock, but there was wisdom and intelligence in his eyes. There were many scars that marred his face over the years from fighting off blind fools who thought to strike a lone darkspawn down, but no one aside from Elissa had studied his face enough to know that.

The Messenger bowed hid head while dropping to one knee.

"My lady. I've regretfully return to your presence." He whispered, never looking up at her. There was a slight strain in his voice that gave away his guilt for for what he was about to ask of her. Along with something else...

The Queen notice this and quickly spoke before he could utter another word.

"I know, Messenger. It's alright. You need not say it...I know that it's time."

**Alistair **

It seemed like forever to Alistair before he was finally freed from the carriage he had rode in all the way from Redcliffe. If only he could've ridden instead to Denerim himself. It would've been much faster in his eyes. Unfortunately his Uncle, Arl Teagan, insisted on making him ride by carriage. The former Grey Warden didn't feel like risking his uncle's unrelenting fury. Or Eamon's for that matter. He was already pulling both of their legs by arriving in Denerim near the stroke of midnight.

The young King stepped out, only to be quickly greeted by a decent sized welcoming party in front of the palace gates. Not as many as there would've been if he had arrived on time during the day, which is exactly what he intended. Alistair would've been stuck there for hours before he even reached the main doors.

"King Alistair, you've arrived earlier than expected. We are happy to see you back home safe and sound."

"Yes, well I simply couldn't stay away from the...extravagance of Court. I think I punished my wife enough for awhile." He replied, shrugging off his coat as he entered through the gate into the courtyard. "Speaking of which, I don't see her lovely face here. Or Alys's."

"The Queen and Alys dosn't yet know if your arrival, your majesty. We didn't wish to disturb their rest. Her ladyship had a particular...trying day."

"No doubt." Alistair muttered under his breath. "Anyways. It's been a long, boring journey. I think I will retire to my chambers with my wife, before someone decides to saddle me with court issues."

"As you wish, your majesty."

He waved off the steward and made his way toward the royal wing with as much haste as possible, only slowing for the briefest moment to make a pit stop. The first door to his left upon entering the royalwing was slightly open, it's occupant already fast asleep inside. The King paused briefly to peek in the darkened room before smiling and continuing on his way toward his own sleeping quarters.

He almost skipped his way down the hallway, finally reaching his destination. Eagerly, Alistair pushed the royal chamber door open and stepped inside. Despite being "retired" for the night, Alistair had often known his wife to be up during late hours, sifting through documents and reports that she would occasionally get from Amaranthine. This was what he expected when he entered.

"Surprise! I have arrived ahead of schedule. Thought you were going to see me tomorrow. I-..."

All that met him was a warmly lit...yet empty room. The bed was still neatly folded from the maids that morning. The armor stand that stood near the ever crackling fireplace was now suddenly relieved of it's occupants. A dark green dress lay draped over the arm chair, as if it was quickly taken off and tossed without a second thought.

Alistair stood there a moment, taking in the entire room, before he uttered a single word.

"...Elissa?"

**Eamon**

The castle was in a uproar the next day. Eamon got wind of the news and rushed over to the palace from his home, which was approximately a ten minute walk. He marched past a pair of whispering servants and approached the library where the King was rumored to have been holed up in all night. No search party was called which puzzled the arl even more, considering a member of the royal family is currently _missing_. Something was definitely wrong.

The arl spotted Alistair in one of the chairs by a large window. The King was hunched over, arms resting on his knees as he stared at the carpeted floor beneath his feet. Books and papers where messily strewn all around him, proof of what he had spent his night doing. A letter, slightly crumpled in his clenched hand, held Alistair's name on it in a familiar handwriting that the arl had grown accustomed to seeing.

"Alistair...is it true?" Eamon hesitantly asked. "Is she gone?"

"She left instructions and a letter for me." Was all he said, as he continued to stare at his feet and the floor.

Eamon took that moment to reach out and relieve the letter from Alistair so he could read the contents inside himself.

_My love,_

_There isn't much time for me to write everything I want to tell you. I must leave...and no, not for the reason you're most likely thinking. There is something I need to do. For myself. For us both. I had wanted to tell you this in person, but time has robbed me of that chance. I got a lead from a trusted friend and aim to pursue it as fast as possible. If we are correct I may be able to save us from a fate that we know will eventually befall us. If I can stop this, then I will. There are specific instructions that I need you to carry out. Especially the one involving the "Champion", this...Hawke. I knew a girl named Hawke once. If my hunch is correct and she is the one I remember, she'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Time is of the essence beloved. Please hurry._

_I love you. Take care of Alys and I will see you all as soon as I am able. _

_- E_

The former arl slowly looked up from the letter after rereading it a few times to make sure he got everything.

"What does this mean, Alistair?"

"Elissa...plans to stop the Calling."

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R<strong>


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